The 2011 Wild Canyon Games were held at a 66,000-acre facility in Central Oregon known as the Washington Family Ranch. A short 3 hour drive from Portland will get you to the town of Antelope which is where all communication to the outside world effectively ends.  For the next 30 minutes we were on loose gravel and/or dirt roads as we made our way to the entrance to the camp.   The following images show a few of the scenic overlooks and the awe-inspiring landscapes, but the actual feeling when you are there is simply indescribable.

We signed in, received our wristbands, went to orientation and the vendor fair then spent the rest of the afternoon planning and setting our alarms for the 5am Triathlon and GeoCaching events. As we were settling into our bunks, we looked outside and saw that the night sky had exploded with stars. At 10pm, we packed up the cameras, tripod and 5 members of team Bauer Graphics and made the long journey to the top of Communication Hill (2140 ft). This hill would eventually be the last leg of our Creek2Peak journey on Sunday morning, but for now, it was doing a pretty good job of kicking our asses. The last 1/8 of a mile is nearly straight up and ends with the following view:

There were millions of them! I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many stars in my life outside of Red Dead Redemption. After catching our breath for 30 minutes we collected our things and made our way back down ending the day just after midnight.

The next day started at 4am after our bunk house had turned into a fart-n-snore factory. I packed my bag and changed into my gear and waited for the rest of the crew to get ready. By 5:30am we were off to breakfast for and then to the check ins for our respective events. Simon, Ellen and Brendan took their places at the Triathlon while Rudy, Aaron, Derek and I walked across campus to the sports facility to prepare for the Geocaching event.

For the next five hours we would be climbing the hills of the Washington Family Ranch to elevations of nearly 4000 feet. Our team broke into two teams of two; Aaron and Derek went to the hills in the west while Rudy and I went due south to find caches in the valley. What started off as a trip down into a valley turned into Rudy and I heading towards one of the highest peaks at the camp. Word of warning to all you iPhone 4 owners, trying to use the GPS unit in the phone for GeoCaching is like trying to thread a needle while sitting in the back of a truck. Get yourself a good GPS unit before heading out and get a plan of attack ready before your trek into the wilderness so you don’t end up stuck on a devil’s backbone. By “Devil’s Backbone” I mean that we had worked our way up a ridge to a point where there was a sharp, steep grade on one side and a 1500 foot cliff on the other.

After making our way back down to safety we encountered a pretty significant problem. We’d been turned around from our original position so much that we couldn’t place where we were and how to get back to camp. While the iPhone 4’s GPS couldn’t find a broad side of a cavern-sized barn, the compass app worked like a charm and after 45 minutes of additional climbing we crested a hill and saw the ranch once more. Rudy and I, humbled by our journey, were nearly silent during the entire decent into camp. Within 30 minutes Derek and Aaron returned with several cache numbers in tow. All of team Bauer was safe, sound and accounted for.

When we left the geocache area we ran into the rest of the team who let us know that we had done much better than expected in the Triathlon event. Ellen did a great job swimming and Simon finished the mini-marathon with a respectful time but it was Brendan’s racing ability that put us over the top. In a heat of 103 riders, Brendan had finished 10th. After the first event, Bauer Graphics stood in the top 25 of overall participants at the 2011 Wild Canyon Games.

Bill Watterson’s Commencement Speech

“You’ll be told in a hundred ways, some subtle and some not, to keep climbing, and never be satisfied with where you are, who you are, and what you’re doing. There are a million ways to sell yourself out, and I guarantee you’ll hear about them. To invent your own life’s meaning is not easy, but it’s still allowed, and I think you’ll be happier for the trouble.”

Steve Jobs – “Stay hungry, stay foolish.”

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Bill Hicks – “The world is like a ride at an amusement park”

“We can get off of it at any time. It’s only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings, and money. A choice, right now, between fear and love.”

If you want something, you have to ask for it

“You must not only condition yourself to be open and willing to receive what you want but you must also ASK FOR IT! You need to ask for what you want with total passion, intention and belief. Don’t complain or be a victim. Be positive, optimistic and full of enthusiasm and joy.”

Have a wonderful morning, afternoon and evening everyone. Looking forward to launching the new site soon.

Sincerely,

___________________________________________

Neal Bauer
Bauer Graphics, Inc.

email • neal (at) bauergraphics (dot) com
cell • 503.968.7699

http://www.bauergraphics.com/bg_capabilities.pdf

Donation

Note: Donations are accepted in Japanese Yen only. ($20 is approximately 1600 yen) Your donation must be at least 100 yen, up to 50,000 yen.

Enter Amount in JP¥

* Donations will go to the Japanese Red Cross Society and will be used to support to those affected by the earthquake in Japan

A massive 8.9/9.0 magnitude earthquake hit the Pacific Ocean nearby Northeastern Japan at around 2:46pm on March 11 (JST) causing damage with blackouts, fire and tsunami. On this page we are providing the information regarding the disaster and damage with realtime updates.

The large earthquake triggered a tsunami warning for countries all around the Pacific ocean.

Local Japan Emergency dials:
171 + 1 + line phone number to leave a message
171 + 2 + line phone number to listen to the message

Phone numbers to consult about missing persons: (Japanese language)
Iwate: 0120-801-471
Miyagi: 022-221-2000
Fukushima: 0120-510-186 / 090-8424-4207 / 090-8424-4208

You can also access Person Finder here: http://goo.gl/sagas

We are in the picturesque Sonoran Desert but it is a bit colder than you would expect. I’m not complaining as this desert could do with some rain and, plus, it makes walking the floor at the expo a little less muggy.

We are here for a week’s worth of meetings and planning for the next phase of Bauer Graphics and to talk all things Sony. It was a toss up for which show I would be attending (DPS or GDC) but I figured that I’d be hitting those same folks up at E3 this year so Destination Playstation won out. Plus, how can you compete with the luxurious Fairmont Scottsdale Princess resort? Come on!

Looking forward to bringing back some key partnerships this year and to start working with more companies in the game industry.

Over the course of 2010-2011 the team at ++Good has talked with developers and individuals that are actively pushing the craft of video games forward including Tim Schafer and Lee Petty of Double Fine Studios, Localization Specialist Thomas Lipschultz from XSeed Games as well as voice actors like Liam O’Brien and Kat Steel who have graciously joined the program.

The ++Good Games podcast has been celebrating the best games, the best developers and the greatest experiences this industry has to offer and has worked tirelessly to share what has made the games industry so exceptional these past 40 years.

We at Bauer Graphics are proud to have the opportunity to support a program that moves an imaginative industry forward and we are glad that we could help them level up.

It is an analog computer with over 100 gears and 7 differential gearboxes. It is accurate to a day or two over it’s range.

Five turns of the central yellow handle advances the machine one year. The dials on the left represent the Saros cycle of lunar months. The dials on the right represent the positions of the sun and moon against the zodiac.

There have been numerous studies that have shown that getting proper sleep every night can mean better mood, sharper concentration, higher productivity at work, a stronger immune system and even an easier time managing your weight. It sounds like the wonder-drug for most of what ails us is a little vitamin Z.

So, with that, I am going to actively try out each of the following “Sleep Hygene” recommendations from sleep experts over the next 30 days:

(photo courtesy of Malias)

• I you can’t fall asleep within 20 minutes, get up and do something boring until you feel sleepy
Sit quietly in the dark or read the warranty on your refrigerator. Don’t expose yourself to bright light while you are up. The light gives cues to your brain that it is time to wake up.

• Don’t take naps
This will ensure you are tired at bedtime. If you just can’t make it through the day without a nap, sleep less than one hour, before 3 pm.

• Get up and go to bed the same time every day

Even on weekends! When your sleep cycle has a regular rhythm, you will feel better.

• Refrain from exercise at least 4 hours before bedtime
Regular exercise is recommended to help you sleep well, but the timing of the workout is important. Exercising in the morning or early afternoon will not interfere with sleep.

• Develop sleep rituals
It is important to give your body cues that it is time to slow down and sleep. Listen to relaxing music, read something soothing for 15 minutes, have a cup of caffeine free tea, do relaxation exercises.

• Only use your bed for sleeping
Refrain from using your bed to watch TV, pay bills, do work or reading. So when you go to bed your body knows it is time to sleep. Sex is the only exception.

• Stay away from caffeine, nicotine and alcohol at least 4-6 hours before bed
Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants that interfere with your ability to fall asleep. Coffee, tea, cola, cocoa, chocolate and some prescription and non-prescription drugs contain caffeine. Cigarettes and some drugs contain nicotine. Alcohol may seem to help you sleep in the beginning as it slows brain activity, but you will end end up having fragmented sleep.

• Have a light snack before bed
If your stomach is too empty, that can interfere with sleep. However, if you eat a heavy meal before bedtime, that can interfere as well. Dairy products and turkey contain tryptophan, which acts as a natural sleep inducer. Tryptophan is probably why a warm glass of milk is sometimes recommended.

• Take a hot bath 90 minutes before bedtime
A hot bath will raise your body temperature, but it is the drop in body temperature that may leave you feeling sleepy.

• Make sure your bed and bedroom are quiet and comfortable
A hot room can be uncomfortable. A cooler room along with enough blankets to stay warm is recommended. If light in the early morning bothers you, get a blackout shade or wear a slumber mask. If noise bothers you, wear earplugs or get a “white noise” machine.

• Use sunlight to set your biological clock
As soon as you get up in the morning, go outside and turn your face to the sun for 15 minutes.
I’ll be posting with successes and failures from my experiment. Keep in mind what works for me may not exactly work for you, but with our own experimentation I’m sure we’ll both be getting more rest than we are right now.

I mean, really, what could it hurt?

You are welcome if you want to share more useful web apps that our readers/viewers may like. Do you want to be the first one to know the latest happenings at  SmashingApps.com just subscribe to our rss feed and you can follow us on twitter as well.

smartQ

smartQ is a web-based visual project board for tracking tickets through a multi-step process. You can distribute the work, track the progress, identify the bottlenecks and store team communication in one central place. It is really adjustable to fit any workflow.

Skylight

Skylight puts powerful but easy-to-use business management tools in the hands of the whole team, in or out of the office. Skylight helps business users achieve success while providing anytime, anywhere access to important business information. Projects, contacts, resources, accounts and files in one place.

Gantt

GANTTIC is an online project management software for scheduling resources and projects. This online scheduling software provides user-friendly graphical interface and interactive Gantt chart for real time collaboration. This is really perfect for resource management and project scheduling of any business.

Teamlab

TeamLab is a free open-source platform for business collaboration and project management. It allows you to use social networking tools such as blogs and forums, organize business tasks and milestones, as well as communicate with your team members via corporate IM.

Perq

Perq makes leave management painless with an easy-to-use policy creation tool, automated tracking with accrual, and a simple time-off request process.

SmartPointment

SmartPointment is a simple but effective way to schedule appointments online. With this, You can let your customers schedule appointments at their convenience. SmartPointment analytics give you the insight you need so you can direct your efforts into what has the most impact on your business.

Mavenlink

This is one of the best project collaboration applications which can be used to manage your projects, track time spent on each project, communicate with team members, manage payments, invoices and do a lot more.

Disqourse

It’s easy to use communication and task management system. Disqourse is best for teams that are communicating with their customers and mainly it’s perfect for B2B businesses like design shops, webdevelopers etc

SkyLedger

SkyLedger will change the way you look at bookkeeping and accounting forever.This system makes it so any small to medium size business can be up and running with a fully robust accounting system in seconds.

Producteev

Producteev will help you manage your tasks from wherever you’re comfortable working like E-mail, IM, Web, iPhone, Gmail, Google Calendar…

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Walk into any design classroom, at any college in America, and you’ll see a comfortable mix of male and female students. Turn your attention to the front of the classroom, or down the hall to the faculty and staff offices, and that wonderful gender balance starts to skew. Travel outside the campus, and there’s really no balance at all.

But why? If there are design classrooms across the country with a 50/50 blend of men and women — and in many classrooms, there are more females than males — then why doesn’t the design field represent the same ratio? Why does creative employment still showcase a male-dominated presence? What happens to these passionate and educated females? Certainly, there must be more to it than child-bearing — or is there? Is a more gender-balanced field really all that important? Why, or why not?

Gender disparities in the design field is a controversial as well as a complex topic. Image credit: Choichun Leung

These questions and many others accompanied me to a design and technology conference this past fall. Minnebar, an annual Twin Cities conference that celebrates vision, niche technology and collective wisdom, provided the perfect platform for such inquiries. I hosted a session aptly named “The Equal Sign” to pitch the dilemma of the field not representing the classroom. I played the role of discussion facilitator, and was eager to see where the conversation would go. What I hadn’t realized, was that I wasn’t the only one perplexed by this phenomenon.

First, the Stats

According to Findings From A List Apart Survey 2009, a poll created by and for Web designers, 82.6% of Web designers are male. Ironically, 66.5% of the same respondents stated there is “definitely not” a gender bias in the design field. Web design is just one segment of the design world, but the statistic is nonetheless chilling.

My audience for the session? Predominantly female. It seems the topic itself is more intriguing for women than men. What these women had to say was sobering. One mentioned that it’s foolish to expect a male-dominated field to be able to design interfaces that appeal to how women want to interact with technology. In other words, young girls put off as consumers of technology aren’t likely to desire to create in that arena.

Another common theme during the discussion was that of heroes. So few female designers exist, and of them, few are known superstars in the industry. Of these, even less are known by individuals outside of the industry. Lack of visible female heroes results in lack of female interest. But there are countless male role models in the field; why can’t they be heroes for young girls with computers? The same reason why I’d rather aspire to be Run DMC, than Mariah Carey.

Second, the Perceptions

In the book Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing, two researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that “research shows that both males and females believe that males are better than females at computing” (Clarke, 1992; Spertus, 1991). This finding is nearly 20 years old, but this mindset could easily have been held by the parents of today’s college students. Going to college can be hard, but pursuing a degree with little support from mom and dad makes it even harder.

There is also an unspoken expectation that women are very creative and make great print designers, but aren’t wired to splice the intricacies of new and constantly changing software and platforms — as noted in a Fadtastic.net article written by designer Matt Davies. The field generally represents the occurrence of women holding positions in print, illustration and photography, with noticeable scarcity in more technology-dependent roles such as Web design, animation, game design and programming.

Google used to return the correction “Did You Mean: He Invented” for the search “she invented”. It generated a lot of buzz throughout the Web.

Third, the Conditioning

Conditioning is perhaps the most obvious and potentially controversial (but definitely the most changing) of all the reasons why there aren’t more women designers. Video games and scrapbooks are cliché, but a telling, cultural phenomena. Traditionally, young boys have been fascinated with video games. The constant newness of the technological capacities; the integration with other male stigmas, such as television and computers; and certainly the intense competitive nature of the games, whether against a friend or the software itself, have all catered to masculine characteristics.

Scrapbooking, on the other hand — often a self-involved, self-rewarding, aesthetic, process-oriented affair — has appealed to feminine sensibilities. Great; but what do video games and scrapbooking have to do with gender gaps in creative fields?

Everything. And, it’s changing. In the Newsweek article “’Where’s My Crazy Hot Guy?’ A Female Designer On Women and Videogames,” award-winning female game designer Brenda Brathwaite confessed, “There was a time literally, within this decade, when I knew every single female game designer out there. Personally….” Video games, or more specifically, the video game format, have found their way into almost every media component of our lives.

Log in to Facebook, and in no time you’ll end up fielding requests from friends to play “Farmville.” Shop your favorite store online, and you may be prompted to click a link and dress a sophisticated cartoon character to help you with your purchasing decisions. Save some time at the grocery store by going through the self-checkout line, and you’re confronted with the all too familiar series of buttons, colors and graphics to ease your way through the credit card swipe and out the door.

Video gaming isn’t just something engaged in by teenage football players. It’s a format that is relevant to men and women, boys and girls, and this inclusion of the female population is invariably causing more females to ask themselves how it all works, and how they can be a contributing factor.

Fourth, the Status Quo

All things design — video games, Web design and graphic arts — can bring two genders together and create acceptance and encouragement, which fosters the potential to level the creative employment playing field. You must ask yourself, “Is this a good thing?” There are numerous reasons why more women are needed, and need representation; but is the “female designer dilemma” really all that bad? If a city of people stormed the doors of their school district demanding more male kindergarten teachers, they might be mercilessly scoffed at.

Similarly, few are tooting the horn for more female firefighters, or male nurses. Our culture has built functioning gender-based roles, and has birthed young boys and girls excited to fill them. Why fix it if it ain’t broke? If gender balance is achieved in the creative industry, will it be adding new jobs for females, or replacing jobs that males had? If the latter is the case, what will happen to these men? My audience at Minnebar had blank faces, and empty responses, when I asked them.

All of this matters for one reason: I don’t want to face my female students every day with the thought that more than half of them won’t ever be designers, and of the few that do, what exactly do they have to look forward to? They will have to deal with their peers, employers, clients and families being both impressed and confused when their sisters, friends and coworkers create designs that aren’t “girly” and “cute.”

Lisa Firke, a woman embodying that rare combination of female and Web designer, commented on Zeldman.com: “I’m sure it’s not a coincidence that 90% of my clients are women. Perhaps taking women seriously as designers goes hand-in-hand with taking women seriously as Web consumers.”

Sources

Fisher, A. and Margolis, J. (2002). Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing. Cambridge, MA. MIT Press.

Editor’s Note

This post is an article from our series of “opinion columns,” in which we give people in the Web design community a platform to raise their voices and present their opinion on something they feel strongly about to the community. Please note that the content in this series is not in any way influenced by the Smashing Magazine’s Editorial team. If you want to publish your article in this series, please send us your thoughts and we’ll get back to you.

— Vitaly Friedman, Editor in Chief of Smashing Magazine

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